All Teachers Alliance Ghana (ATAG) has described the invitation of the Ghana Education Service (GES) to teachers calling on the employees of the service to attend KA Technologies IT training to be held online and an attempt to ridicule and labour rape teachers.
According to the union, the move by GES is nothing but uncalled for as our employer (GES) is bent to subject teaches to ridicule, labour rape, and unsubstantiated actions”
Some of the reasons the leadership of ATAG outlined for rejecting the call by the GES as follows.
According to the proposal binding teacher unions (representing teachers) and GES, the ICT training will attract a fee of GHS300.00. The Ghs300.00 cost will cover technical training in the application of ICT devices in teaching per person for one month estimated at GHS105 million.”
The union stated that it found it strange for the GES to turn around to tell all teachers that GHS300.00 meant for technical training will be virtual training instead of an in-person training.
ATAG quizzed the GES to explain where the technical support will come from and called on the managers of education at the pre-tertiary level to explain the kind of technical support they were referring to in the proposal.
It further sought clarification from the GES as to whether the online training would offer teachers the needed practical guidance. It also quizzed the GES to find out if teachers have committed any crime to warrant the disrespect and spat on the chalk fraternity. ATAG added that the move by the GES should not be entertained given that the current Minister of Education was trained under the US Cambridge education system.
The teacher union could not fathom how the GES would organize an IT training that demands teachers to participate using their One Teacher One Laptops when several teachers are yet to be provided their laptops.
Online training requires participants to have access to data and since the training in question will last 2 hours per session, each teacher must fund the cost of the data needed for the 2 hours.
ATAG estimated that a two-hour per day for the three days online training sessions would require teachers to spend GHS150.00 on data to be able to remain online and active for six hours. This would be an extra financial burden on teachers it bemoaned.
It furthered that, teachers will be deducted GHS300.00 from their PCD and pension allowance in addition to the cost of data they have to incur.
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It further projected that teachers need fast and reliable internet to be part of the training sessions and since this cannot be guaranteed. ATAG estimated that some 120,000 facilitators will be denied access even if they were to take part.
READ: Download All Term 1 Lesson Plans for KG1 – JHS 1 Here
ATAG has described the move by Ghana Education as not only visionless but also incompetence of agency players in the education sector.
FAQs: What is your take on ATAG’s position that GES 1T1L online training is an attempt to ridicule and labour rape Teachers?